Medical marijuana violence -- a problem in the law?

Updated 10:00 pm, Tuesday, March 23, 2010

He was the victim weeks ago, the first of three Western Washington men apparently authorized to receive medical marijuana to be attacked for their stash.

By Tuesday, he was locked up in King County Jail, a suspect in what police described as a drug-related shooting inside a University District apartment.

That March 3 robbery preceded a shootout at the Kenmore-area home of medical marijuana purveyor Steve Sarich, in which prosecutors say Sarich shot a 19-year-old robber while driving off a group of five young men attempting to invade his home.

In the days between, on March 9, an Orting man also authorized to possess marijuana suffered fatal injuries in another apparent robbery.

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The streak of violence is an oddity in Washington state's 12-year experience with medical marijuana, advocates say, but one made possible by a lack of sensibility in state rules governing the possession and sale of the drug.

Under state Department of Health rules prompted by a statewide initiative passed in 1998, the only legal means for medical marijuana users to acquire the drug is by growing it themselves or having another person grow it for them without pay. What's left, advocates and a DOH study say, is for patients to acquire the drug surreptitiously from dealers or through "dispensaries" allowed to operate by the good graces of law enforcement.

"Prohibition creates the atmosphere that allows this sort of thing to happen on many levels," said Vivian McPeak, Hempfest executive director and medical marijuana user. "It's just not realistic to expect a sick or dying person produce it on their own, or have someone do it for free. But that's what the law allows."

Describing the March 3 robbery at an apartment in the 4500 block of Seventh Avenue Northeast, Seattle police claim a man known to the five victims as "Doughboy" and to authorities as Curtis L. Walker drew a handgun and demanded money and drugs from a medical marijuana recipient.

Pistol in hand, Walker, 26, received a bag containing $1,250 in cash and a $390 diamond ring, as well as a half-ounce of marijuana, prosecutors contend. He is also alleged to have thrown a woman on a bed and threatened her life. Walker was booked into King County Jail on Friday night, facing robbery and assault charges. Two days later, police contend, the man Walker robbed blew a hole in the apartment during an argument with another man apparently residing there.

According to police reports, officers were called to the apartment at 6:20 p.m. following a report of gunshots. Witnesses said the man, who is not being named because he has not been charged, had been arguing about drugs when he drew a sawed-off shotgun.

"He and (the suspect) were involved in an argument over narcotics, and (the suspect) was told to leave the residence," a Seattle officer told the court.

The man drew and cocked the shotgun, then pointed it in the victim's face, the officer continued. The weapon fired as the victim pushed it aside, blowing a hole in the apartment wall.

Investigators say two of the five teens had acquired medical marijuana authorization cards through Sarich's organization, CannaCare. A third had worked for Sarich on the property. All five have since been charged in the robbery.

Examining the property following the shooting, investigators claim they found significantly more marijuana than Sarich is allowed under state law.

King County Sheriff's Office investigators found more than 300 marijuana plants and marijuana-laced food in the home, said Sgt. John Urquhart, a spokesman for the department. Urquhart said investigators left the amount of marijuana Sarich is legally allowed to have, defined by the Department of Health as a 60-day supply per person, including up to 24 ounces of usable marijuana and no more than 15 plants.

Sarich has not been charged in the current case, nor have previous police raids on CannaCare resulted in criminal charges.

In a third incident, Orting resident Michael Howard died after apparently being struck in the head with a crowbar at his property, which contained about 150 marijuana plants, according to Associated Press reports. Medical marijuana advocates have identified Howard as an authorized user of the drug.

Outlining concerns similar to those expressed in a 2008 Department of Health report, Holcomb said legal users of marijuana are left with few ways of getting the drug that are both practical and legal.

"Right now, a medical marijuana patient has no way to know where they can go to get it," Holcomb said. "The fact that they have had to engage in this activity under the radar has made them more vulnerable."

The state rules do not allow dispensaries, storefronts serving holders of doctors' notes authorizing them to possess medical marijuana, according to the Health Department report. Medical marijuana users, while are allowed to grow their own, have no legal means to obtain seeds.

The state report noted that dispensaries or government-provided supplies of the drug could result in diversion of the drug beyond those authorized to obtain it. Holcomb and McPeak counter that, at the very least, dispensaries could be secure and located out of residential areas.

McPeak said he believes state law enforcement, in some jurisdictions, has come to tolerate dispensaries, finding them within "the spirit of the law."

"Obviously these should be professional operations, and it's just standard that professional operations don't operate out of a house," McPeak said Tuesday.